HP TouchPad WebOS Review and Gaming Performance

On this website, i’ve already given you some of the reviews of HP Slate tablet family.

From the low-end ranger, HP Slate 7, followed by the latest-gen HP Slate 7 Plus, HP Slate 7 Extreme and HP Slate 8 Pro.
The amazing thing about these tablets is that, they actually are all great for gaming. I mean, if the latest-gen tablets like HP Slate 7 Extreme and HP Slate 8 Pro are great for gaming, then i’m not really surprised given that they both are packing the “beast” processor, Tegra 4, which is MADE for gaming.

I’m also not that really blown away with the gaming performance of HP Slate 7 Plus, given its Tegra 3 quad-core chipset, which still has 12-core GPU.

However, the one tablet from HP that really manages to capture my attention is actually HP Slate 7, which is an older-gen model of this series.

This tablet, despite using some hardware specs that are so “last year” even “3-years ago”, HP Slate 7 amazingly is capable to handle most of the latest graphically demanding games, like Modern Combat 4, N.O.V.A 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, GTA Vice City and Iron Man, all in full graphics and smooth performance.

And more impressively, this tablet is strong enough to run GTA San Andreas also in smooth performance, although not in full high graphics.

So this really makes it easier for me to recommend you these tablets, especially if you love playing games on tablet.

I mean, even though HP is considered as small player in tablet market, especially compared to Apple, Samsung, Asus or Sony, it doesn’t mean that HP tablets will be mediocre in quality, especially gaming performance.

HP TouchPad webOS

Anyway, after talking about the older-gen HP Slate 7 in my previous reviews, today, i want to flashback again to the old days and bring up the oldest-gen tablet from HP.

This one is called HP TouchPad WebOS.

Unlike other HP tablets that i’ve already been reviewing on this website, this HP Touch Pad interestingly comes with HP’s homemade OS, WebOS 3.0, which is kind of weird given that most of tablet manufacturers on the market today are all using Google’s Android OS.

The good news is, from what i’ve seen on many video reviews about this tablet on YouTube, many of users of HP Touch Pad WebOS have managed to root this device and replace its WebOS with Android OS, probably using XDA developer forum.

So if you happen to wanna buy this tablet, which i think is unlikely, then you should now that this WebOS-powered tablet can also be installed with Android OS, using the CyanogenMOD custom ROM.

Okay then, if you’re interested to know more about this tablet, especially its gaming performance, then here you go, check out my personal review of HP Touch Pad.

Compared to Google’s homemade OS (to be exact, acquired and developed OS), then it’s just no brainer that WebOS on this tablet will be different in many aspects with Android OS, especially its User Interface.

One thing that’s probably gonna make you hate this OS is that, given its small ecosystem, you’re gonna find a lot of trouble in getting the apps for this tablet because not many developers are interested to port their apps or games to this WebOS.

So as a result, if you decide to buy this tablet, you just can’t use many apps or games that you’ve always come to love on your Android devices.

The good news is, if you don’t like being “caged” inside this WebOS ecosystem, there is still one way out from this OS.

If you’re already familar with hacking in Android world, or softly known as rooting, then you’re likely familar with CyanogenMod.

This CyanogenMOD is actually the custom ROM or the modified Android OS that comes with its own UI, skins, wallpapers, and even its own features that you’re probably not gonna find on stock Android OS.

So with this CyanogenMOD installed on this HP TouchPad, you can open and play all the Android apps across the Google Play Store.

Around the YouTube, most of HP TouchPad users have mostly rooted this tablet with CyanogenMOD.

But you probably can install other Android custom ROMs from XDA developer forums.

The other good news is that, this tablet is already packing some good quality specs on it.

So once you’ve managed to installed that Android custom ROM on HP TouchPad, you can still do a lot of things with this tablet, even for playing games.

Design

The design of HP TouchPad WebOS actually kind of reminds me with the oldest-gen Samsung GALAXY tablets, which mostly have that chubby looking shape and rounded corners all over the body.

And it’s the same thing found on this HP’s tablet.

Its corners just look really chubby with those fully-rounded corners.

Its bezels are also really huge and make it look like old-gen device, which is why HP TouchPad is an old-gen device, right?

The back side of this tablet also has nothing to write home about.

Given that this tablet is an old-gen device, released in early 2011, then it’s nothing weird to see that glossy plastic finish all over its body.

The good thing is, this tablet still has that cool HP logo engraved on the center, making it look elegant despite its cheap glossy plastic material.

Overall, i’m definitely not impressed with the design of this tablet.

Well, we can’t blame HP for this cheap looking design given that HP TouchPad indeed is an old-gen tablet.

But the good news is, this manufacturer has improved a lot in the design department on its recent HP Slate tablets.

With this type of specs, then it’s clearly that HP TouchPad is not relevant anymore to be positioned on today’s tablet market.

Screen

Interestingly, the display of HP TouchPad WebOS is the same one found on the first-gen Apple’s iPad, with that same 9.7-inch display and the same exact 1024x768 pixels.

And this is not surprising given that HP TouchPad was released as the challenger for the first-gen iPad, although it didn’t have success in achieving that goal.

Even so, the display on this HP’s tablet must still be considered as good, of course on tablet market 4 years ago, not on today’s tablet market.

In the real world quality though, the resolution of 1024x768 pixels actually still produces nice looking display on this tablet.

It may lack in sharpness and probably viewing angle as well, but this type of display still looks pretty good for doing some basic tasks, like reading books, browsing the web, watching movies or playing games, although you will always need to do the pinch-to-zoom gesture everytime your eyes can’t read the text or see the images perfectly, especially when browsing the web or reading books/magazines.

Performance

In terms of performance, then it’s obvious that HP TouchPad WebOS has nothing special on this sector.

With the hardware specs like a dual-core 1.2 GHz Scorpion Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 220, this tablet may run pretty fast and smooth for doing some basic tasks, like watching movies, browsing the web, reading books or playing some casual games.

However, when faced with much heavier tasks like, probably using live wallpaper, browsing heavy web pages, reading heavy magazine or playing some heavy games, then this tablet’s performance will give some lags and stutters in the long run.

But still, as an older-gen tablet, i think the hardware specs of this tablet must still be appreciated though.

It may not be as powerful and fast as other recent-gen tablets, but with that dual-core Scorpion processor and Adreno 220 GPU, this tablet can still be considered as pretty good in its class, if not great.

Besides, on today’s high-end tablets, they are still using either Adreno 320 or Adreno 330 GPU.

Therefore, the Adreno 220 GPU inside this HP’s tablet can still make it relevant with today’s tablet market, but of course, not on par with them.

Despite being an older-gen tablet, with this HP TouchPad WebOS, you can actually play many high performing games across the Google Play Store, of course the older ones released in early 2012 or before it.

As a comparison, this tablet can be positioned alongside Huawei MediaPad 7, which also shares the same type of hardware specs, like a dual-core 1.2GHz Scorpion processor, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 220 GPU, similar like the internals found inside HP TouchPad, with the same dual-core 1.2GHz Scorpion processor, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 220 GPU.

I’ve actually already seen the gaming performance of Huawei MediaPad 7 and it’s surprisingly capable to handle many latest graphically demanding games like Modern Combat 4, Asphalt 7: Heat, Need for Speed Most Wanted and N.O.V.A 3, although most of these games don’t run in full graphics, only Asphalt 7 and Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Need for Speed game doesn’t run smoothly in full graphics.

So if this Huawei tablet is capable to run these games with that type of hardware, then you probably can expect the same thing on this HP TouchPad.

However, it’s worth noting that Huawei MediaPad 7 is packing a dual-core Scorpion MSM8260 Snapdragon processor, which is different with the dual-core Scorpion APQ8060 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor inside this HP TouchPad.

But then again, given that Huawei’s tablet is sporting a higher 1280x800 pixel display, which is higher than the 1024x768 pixel display on HP TouchPad, then it probably can still help a lot in the gaming performance of HP’s tablet.

And it’s not that great though as i’ve only seen it run older games like Dungeon Defender, Turbo Fly, Field Runners and some oldest games.

But with that good Snapdragon Scorpion processor and Adreno 220 GPU, i believe this tablet is also capable to handle games like Asphalt 6, Dungeon Hunter, Modern Combat 1, N.O.V.A 1, ShadowGun, 9mm and some other older graphically demanding games.

Anyway guys, if you want to know more about the gaming performance of HP TouchPad WebOS, including what games that will run on this tablet, check out my YouTube video playlist or Pinterest page. :)

Camera

If you’re into tablet photography, then you will be left alone disappointed by this tablet with its low-quality 1.3MP camera.

And this is not so surprising because HP TouchPad, as i’ve already mentioned a lot in this review, is an older-gen tablet, released when iPad just reached its massive success in tablet market. So its quality may not be something to write home about.

But still, having a rear-facing camera on a tablet should be appreciated, right?

Who knows, it might come in handy if you forgot to bring your digital camera or smartphone at your disposal.

Battery Life

HP TouchPad WebOS is packing a pretty huge 6300mAh power battery, which is still considered as pretty huge for 10-inch tablets.

The good thing is, this tablet is only using a low-resolution 1024x768 pixel display plus a non-power-hungry dual-core processor.

So for doing some basic daily tasks like watching movies, checking emails, reading books listening to music, browsing the web or playing games, you can expect its 6300mAh power battery to last all day even in heavy usage.

However, if you're gonna use this tablet to do some heavy intense tasks without resting the screen, like watching TV shows in marathon or playing games in the row, then its battery life could probably last only around 5 to 7 hours, which is still pretty neat for an older-gen tablet like this one.

And its battery life could be improved much even further if you managed to root this tablet and install the stock Android OS using CyanogenMOD custom ROM, which removes all the unnecessary bloatwares and pre-loaded apps from its original webOS platform.

My Personal Opinions

So my final words about this tablet is, even though this tablet is still equipped with pretty good hardware specs, like a dual-core Snapdragon Scorpion processor, 1GB of RAM, Adreno 220 GPU and pretty good 1024x768 pixel display, i personally think that HP TouchPad is definitely not a worth buying tablet, unless if it’s priced under $130.

This tablet may have pretty good gaming performance and could possibly be able to play some popular great games like 9mm, Modern Combat (1, 2), Asphalt (5, 6) or Need for Speed Most Wanted.

But with its low-quality camera, unattractive design, low-resolution display and webOS platform, it’s just hard for me to recommend this tablet to you.

The good news is, HP itself has already stopped the production of this tablet. So chances are, you’re probably not gonna find this tablet laying around the tablet stores in your town.

There are many other great alternatives that are just way better than HP TouchPad.

If you want to get the same 10-inch tablet at low price, you might want to check out Acer Iconia Tab A700, which has Tegra 3 quad-core processor, great 1080p display, great design, good camera and a staggering 9800mAh power battery, giving you an instant long-lasting battery life.